Westering and Coltom help fuel Rogers’ turnaround

The combination of Jessi Westering and Tristan Coltom has given the Rogers High girls basketball team quite the spark this year.

It’s been a terrific first season playing together for the lifelong friends, and that connection led to both being named first-team members of the Class 4A South Puget Sound League South Division all-league team. But perhaps more importantly, the duo helped Rogers (14-10, 7-5 league) turn around what initially looked to be a lost season.

“If you think about it (playing) in a stressful way, then you’re going to play stress(ed),” Westering said. “I’ve played stressed, and I never want to play that way again. I want to keep it light, and keep it loose.”

“For me, I think of every game like ‘This is for the championship.’ I have to think of it like I want to win,” Coltom added. “I hate losing.”

Westering was among the 4A SPSL scoring leaders, averaging 16.7 points per game, while Coltom contributed 8.5 points per game during the regular season.

The duo has propelled Rogers to postseason success so far, as the Rams rebounded from a Feb. 11 loss to Gig Harbor in the opening round of the district tournament to knock off Bethel, 46-36, to move on in the consolation bracket. Rogers plays Kentridge (17-6, 6-2) at 7:45 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 16) at Mount Tahoma High in a loser-out game.

“It will be a good game,” Rogers coach Amy Looker said.

Familiar face, new place

Over the first few weeks of the preseason, Coltom, a junior, was getting used to her new life at Rogers after transferring to the 4A school after spending last year playing in the 1A Nisqually League with Cascade Christian.

It was a new environment coming to the much larger campus.

But Westering was there, a lifelong friend since their roots to family ties and Pacific Lutheran University football. It was a strong tie to ease the nerves of a new environment.

“It was different coming from a smaller school to here, but having someone I know and am familiar with really helped me those first weeks,” Coltom said.

Westering is entering a first in her prep career. After missing much of last season, the junior forward still came back with a fury, taking all-league honors even though she only spent limited time on the court.

It wasn’t just the numbers, but how Rogers’ turnaround last year coincided with Westering’s return to action.

“Last year, she had a knee injury, and then the next game she game back she did something with her labrum — her shoulder,” Looker said. “It was very hard, but I think what it did was left her very hungry.”

That hunger, mixed with an injury-free season, helped Westering play at a level where she was able help to pull the Rams into the postseason when things looked bleak. A similar situation has played out this season, when Rogers fell to a 1-5 start before going on a 13-5 run since then.

“We came in kind of expecting things to happen,” Westering said. “(But) there’s no one who will work harder than our team ... we came in deciding we can either fold or fight.”

And the Rams have chosen to fight so far.

The fumble

Looker spent much of the beginning of the season with team-bonding games during practice. With a young team and new faces, it was important to get every player on the same page before the season began.

Enter Coltom’s finest hour.

In Rogers’ gym, the team ran cone drills, weaving and bobbing through the course, with two teams squaring off to be the quickest through.

Coltom, Rogers’ new speedster, was given an edict any point guard is given during games: Don’t fumble the dribble. Or in this case, push teammate KC Catey in her wheelchair to keep the whole team intact, as Looker felt Catey was still a part of the team.

As Coltom bolted through the course, it happened. She fumbled on one sharp turn, and out flew Catey, face-planting on the court, leaving an onlooking Coltom in a horrified shock at what just happened.

“I told her to just keep going — don’t worry about me,” Catey recalled with a laugh.

It was a real welcome to the Rams for Coltom, and something she still laughs about.

“Tristan’s just a fun-loving girl. She’s bubbly and great to be around,” Westering said.

It was the start of a great connection amongst a tightly-knit team.

“It’s amazing how close they all are together,” Looker said. “This is really a team effort they put out there each game. They love being together, and times like this are precious to them.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2016 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Westering and Coltom help fuel Rogers’ turnaround."